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The Voting Rights Alliance's 2018 Command Center recap:

What problems did voters experience nationwide?

Administered by the Transformative Justice Coalition, on November 6th, 2018, the Voting Rights Alliance aided voters with a Non-partisan National Election Command Center which monitored social media complaints made by voters. The Command Center, which was staffed by 20 Howard University Law Students and members of the Voting Rights Alliance, was hosted by the Hip Hop Caucus at its DC office. The Command Center generated the bulk of 102,000 impressions and 330 tweets from the Voting Rights Alliance’s Twitter account. Volunteers also made over 200 reports of problems voter experienced while voting covering a vast majority of states. Common problems included: long lines; closed or late opening polling locations; voter registration problems; denial of provisional ballots; last minute polling place relocations; broken scanners and machines; no ballots; absentee ballot problems; wrong or incomplete ballots given; voter intimidation; confusing flyers on a college campus; voter ID confusion; no disability accessibility; no bilingual translators; cell phone use confusion; Uber taking people to wrong polling place; disorganized election administrations; no electricity at polling places to operate machines; exact match ballot rejections; vote flipping; and, other serious vote denial problems. A report from the Command Center will be compiled and shared with the public.

Quoted from the above article, "'The VIAA will provide critical voting rights information and assistance for millions of eligible voters who currently are hindered in participating in the electoral process. Hundreds of thousands of these potential voters need assistance while jailed awaiting trial without access to voter registration or voting access. Tragically, an estimated 17 million, eligible Returning Citizens, are caught in a limbo of fear, confusion, miseducation or lack of information about their voting rights and do not participate as voters. The VIAA answers a vital need in fulfilling the quest for an inclusive and robust Democracy,' said Barbara R. Arnwine, President, Transformative Justice Coalition." [emphasis added]

This bill will need to be re-introduced in the 116th Congress.

"In a major step toward fixing our broken system of elections, House Democratic lawmakers introduced a comprehensive democracy reform bill on the first day of the 116th Congress.

The bill, which is known as H.R. 1, or the For The People Act, and was sponsored by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), would create a more responsive and representative government by making it easier for voters to cast a ballot and harder for lawmakers to gerrymander, by transforming how campaigns are funded to amplify the voices of ordinary Americans, and by bolstering election security and government ethics"

See source and read the full text of the bill below:

For the People Act of 2019 | Brennan Center for Justice

HR1 - To expand Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, and strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and for other purposes.

In November, Florida voters passed Amendment 4 with 65 percent of the vote — restoring voting rights to 1.4 million people with a past felony conviction — the largest voting rights expansion since the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The amendment went into effect yesterday — January 8, 2019 — meaning Floridians who meet the criteria of the amendment can begin registering to vote.

This is the beginning of the largest enfranchisement of U.S. citizens in more than 50 years, and the 1.4 million Floridians impacted are treating this milestone as a moment of celebration.

If you or someone you know has a past felony conviction and meets the criteria of Amendment 4, be sure to connect with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition to help with the registration process and ensure voting rights are upheld for all who are impacted.

See below for more information:

Amendment 4 FAQ - Florida Rights Restoration Coalition

The amendment goes into effect on January 8th, 2019; Yes. Returning Citizens (people with former felony convictions) who have completed their sentence and have not been convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense can register to vote starting...

When it comes to our American Democracy, we are facing a War of Attacks on our Voting Rights which were secured over numerous generations through the blood and sacrifice of our ancestors and ordinary citizens. Indeed, our nation is in the grips…

WATCH OUR CBCF ALC PANELS:

On September 12th, from 2:30-4:30 PM, at the Washington Convention Center, Room 147A, Honorary Host, Congressman Bobby Rush will present a special program on "Advancing Voter Justice and #VoterVigilance: A Special Presentation on the fight for the Vote and Speak Out", co-sponsored by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and the National Commission for Justice Justice. Watch the Facebook livestream below:

On September 12th 2018, Congressman Veasey and Senator Wyden are introducing bicameral resolution to designate September as "National Voting Rights Month"

The purpose of this resolution is to end voter suppression by bringing awareness to the present voter suppression laws, educate Americans on their rights as voters, and encourage all Americans to get out and vote! Currently, there are over 110 Members of Congress and over 20 voting rights and civil rights organizations supporting this resolution.

Encourage public schools and universities to develop academic curriculums that educate student on the importance of voting, registration, voting history, and voting suppression laws.

Push Congress to pass legislation that allow all citizens, upon reaching the age of 18, to be automatically enrolled to vote in Federal elections.

Recommend that Congress allocate funds for public service announcements on various media channels to encourage Americans to vote.

Request that the Department of the Treasury issue a special Fannie Lou Hamer stamp during the month of September to recognize Americans who fought for voting rights.

On September 12 from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Eastern Time, Congressman Marc Veasey will have a #VOTE twitter storm to amplify the resolution.

Click on the link below for social posts and graphics for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. The #VOTE signs are attached. Also, if you have expressed interest in releasing a statement of support for the resolution, please feel free to tag us on our social media handles:

CUTHBERT, Ga. - The consultant, a white man, came to the mainly black Randolph County in rural southern Georgia and recommended that it eliminate seven of its nine polling places. He said the move would save the county money. He said the polling...

The unfinished work of the Civil Rights Moment: Second Chances Florida

The very powerful Florida Rights Restoration Coalition Second Chances Convening was just held. Nearly 500 people —including many returning citizens with past felony convictions and many student leaders — participated in this powerful 3 day event as they prepare to make history in less than 90 days by restoring the eligibility to vote to 1.4 million people. This week, Florida voters head to the polls, but 1.4 million Floridians with past convictions won’t be able to vote because they are permanently barred from voting, even after serving their time and paying their debts. But you can help us change this broken system.

Here's what you can do:

1. Adopt A Day. Help boost Second Chances' phone banking program by adopting a day once a month (or more often) to be your organization’s day for remote phone banking to Florida voters to let them know why it’s so important to vote YES on Amendment 4 this November. You’ll be responsible for filling up the phones one day M-Th, 5:30-8:30pm ET - with the goal of recruiting at least 20 callers for your shift (which means getting 40 to sign-up, so 20 show-up).You can do this virtually with your membership or host a call party with your staff. If each partner takes one day we can keep the calls rolling out. Fill out this form to adopt days in the coming months.

In honor of Black History Month, the Voting Rights Alliance created a historic archive of the legacies and stories of the heroes, sheroes, and events in the fight for Black suffrage. Each day of Black History Month 2017, the Voting Rights Alliance shared a new calendar article, honoring a person, organization, or event, from over 5 centuries that forever changed the movement for the right to vote for African Americans and all Americans.

We shared each article on social media underneath the hashtag #VRABlackHistory. Follow us on Twitter (@VRAmatters) to see the series' tweets. We also emailed these articles out every morning of February 2017. For 2018, we will be resurrecting this series and introducing 8 new articles!

We don't do enough to praise people who vote in the United States of America, so the Voting Rights Alliance is taking full advantage of all #280characters & saying a big THANK YOU to EVERYONE, the over 40% of Americans who had an election today, who went out & voted #ElectionDay